Feed mechanism for roller grinding-mills.



No. 645,245. Patented Mar.' 13, |900.- A. H. Bor-:LTERl FEED MEGHANISM FOR ROLLER-GB|NDING MILLS.

(Applicatin med Jan. 2e, 159s.) (Nn Model.)

UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST H. BOELTER,

onv1 EWING, ILLINOIS.

FEED MECHNISM FOR ROLLER GRINDlNG-VIILLS.

SPECIFICATION forming para Application filed January 2 8, l 89 8.

I partition 5 is arranged centrally in said cas'- Ta all whom t may concern/:

Be it knownthat I, AUGUST H. BOELTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ewing, in the county of Franklin and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Auseful Feed Mechanism for Roller Grinding-Mills, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in feed mechanism for roller grinding-mills.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction offeed mechanism for roller grinding-mills and to secure a uniform feeding of the material or stock to the grinding-rolls.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation taken on the plane indicated by the dotted line a ct of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional elevation atright angles to Fig. 1 and on the plane indicated by the dotted line b b of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional plan view on the plane indicated by the dotted line c c of Fig. 2.

Like numerals of reference denote like and corresponding parts in each of the several figures of the drawings.

Referring now by numerals to the drawings, 1 designates the housing or casing of an ordinary double-roller grinding-mill, and 2 are the sets of coacting grinding-rolls. No nov,- elty for these devices is claimed herein, because they are of the usual or any preferred construction, and I do not therefore deem it necessary to more particularly describe these elements of an ordinary mill.

In embodying my invention in a grindingmill I employ a casing 3, which is attached to the head of the mill-housing 1 in any suitable way, and this casing 3 forms within itself a feeding-chamber 4, to which the stock to be ground is delivered in an ordinary manner by means of the feed-spouts 4.

In using 4my improvements in connection with a double-roller grindingmill, as represented by the accompanying drawings, I provide the receiving-chamber 4 with a partition 5, arranged centrally therein, to divide the chamber into isolated compartments, andthis Ato the sets of coacting rolls 2.

of Letters Patent No. 645,245, dated March 13, 1900.

Serial No. 668,366. (No model.)

ing in a plane substantially parallel to the axes of the grinding-rolls 2. Within the com'- partments of the divided casing 3 are arranged the adjustable gates 6, which extend vertically from the top to the bottom of the feeding-chamber 4 and are hung or pivoted to the casing, as atta, to enable the same to be adj usted for the purpose of varying the course of the flow of stock into the vibrating tray or pan that it may be fed in a uniform manner In their vertical positions the gates 6 divide the stock from the spouts into uniform-streams, so that each gate serves to change the course of the stock from a single spout into two streams directed toward the ends of a vibrating tray. With some kinds of stock or under certain conditions of service of the mill the position of the gates 6 may be changed to direct the stock more or less toward the delivery edge of the tray or pan, so as to vary the passage of the stock over said delivery edge, and consequently effect the regulation of feed from the tray to the grinding-rolls. These adjustable gates may be held in their adjusted positions by any suitable means familiar to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates; but as no novelty for the means of adjusting the gates is claimed herein I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate or describe the holding appliances for said gates.

7 indicates the vibrating feed tray or pan, forming,inpart,myinvention. This feedtray or pan is arranged in a horizontal position between the receiving-chamber 4 and the sets of coacting grinding-rolls, and said tray or pan is hung or suspended within the mill-housing 1 and has the driving mechanism so combined therewith that the tray or pan may be moved or vibrated in a direction transversely within the mill-housing and substantially parallel to the axes of the grinding-rolls 2. In using the vibrating feed tray or pan in a doubleroller mill I provide the same with a vertical partition S, which is arranged within said tray or pan in a direction parallel to the sets of grinding-rolls and in a vertical plane between the same, thus causing the partition 8 to occupy a position in the feed tray or pan immediately below and parallel to the partition 5 of the casing 3. The partition divides IOO the tray or pan centrally into compartments arranged to deliver in opposite directions to the coacting sets of grinding-rolls, and the delivery of the stock from the feed tray or pan to said grinding-rolls is effected by the employment of the adjustable distributingboards 12, which are attached to and carried by said tray or pan. These distributingboards are arranged in inclined positions opposite to each other at the respective ends of the tray or pan, and they lie immediately over the respective sets of grinding-rolls, so as to feedthe stock throughout their length and in a uniform manner to said sets of rolls. The distributing-boards 12 partake of` the vibrating or shaking motion of the tray or pan, but they are attached thereto by means which permit said boards to be adjusted at varying inclinations with relation to said tray or pan independently of the vibrating or shaking motion thereof. The preferred means which I employ to adjustably attach the inclined distributing-boards to the tray or pan consists of the slotted cheek-plates 13, having their lower edges attached rigidly to the end edges of the distributing-boards, and said cheek-plates are attached to the opposing sides of the tray or pan by means of bolts 14, which pass through the slots 13 of the said cheek-plates and the side walls of the tray or pan to adjustably and securely fasten the distributing-boards to said tray. It will be understood that these cheek-plates may be adjusted to position the distributing-boards at dierent inclinations on the tray or pan .for the purpose of adapting the tray to the different kinds of grain or stock which it is desired to feed to the sets of grinding-rolls, and at the same time the plates and bolts provide means for holding the distributer-boards longitudinally and securely in their adjusted positions within the tray or pan.

As before stated, the tray or pan is suspended within the mill-housing, and in the preferred embodiment of the means for suspending said tray I employ the hangers or links 9, which are arranged between the millhousing and the-` tray. The lower ends of these hangers or links are attached, as at 10, to the tray, while the upper ends of said links are attached, as at 11, to the inside of the mill-housin g. The vibrating'trayis provided at opposite sides with upwardly-projecting flanges or ribs adapted to cause the grain to collect on the bottom of the tray and be evenly distributed.

The -means for actuating the suspended tray or pan consists of an arm 15, a lever 1S, and a cam 2l, and this driving mechanism is constructed without the employment of belt or gearing and is arranged to take its motion from one of the grinding-rolls and impart positive movement to the tray or pan. The arm 15 is attached rigidly to the tray or pan at a suitable point intermediate of the length thereof, and said arm passes through a slot or opening 16, provided in one side of the mill-housing 1. The lever is arranged outside of the mill-housing, and said lever is fulcrumed, as at 19, at an intermediate point of its length on a fulcrum-block 17, which is rigidly fastened when practicable, as by bolts, to the mill-housing on the outside thereof. One end of this lever is pivotally attached, as by a pin 19a, to the protruding end of the arm 15, while the other end of said lever is formed with a fork 20, adapted to embrace a peripheral irregular cam-rib 22 ot' the cam 21. This cam is fastened in a suit-able way to a protruding end of one of the roll-shafts, and. the peripheral rib 22 thereon is formed with a series of two or more cam-surfaces, according as it is desired to impart rapid or slow vibration to the feed pan or tray during each rotation of the roll-shaft.

The operation may be described briefly as follows: The spouts deliver the stock to the divided chamber of the casing 3, and the coacting grinding-rolls being set in motion the cam 21 is rotated to actuate the lever 18 and impart a vibrating movement or play to the feed pan or tray in a direction lengthwise of the coasting grinding-rolls. The stock is delivered from the chamber of the casing 3 directly upon the divided feed pan or tray, and as this tray or pan is vibrated parallel to and in the direction of the length of the coacting grinding-rolls the motion of the tray in connection with the gravity of the stock serves to insure uniform feeding of the stock from the tray over the inclined distributing-boards to the sets of coacting grinding-rolls. It is evident that the distributer-boards 12 direct the stock uniformly to the grindingrolls and that said distributer-boards may be adjusted at different inclinations according to the condition or character of the stock which it is desired to feed to the grinding-rolls. The number of cam-surfaces on the irregular rib ot' the rotary cam 21 may be varied, and the cam may be placed on the slow or fast roll to obtain suitable motion to the vibrating feed tray or pan.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, it will be seen that I have provided an improved feed mechanism in which a feed-roller and feed-hopper, as usually employed, are entirely dispensed with and that the driving mechanism for imparting the motion or play to the feed-trayis wholly positive in action, dispensing with the necessity of belt-gearing between the grinding-roll and said tray or pan. y

My improvements are simple in construction, efficient and reliablein operation, eect the feed of the stock uniformly throughout the length of the coacting grinding-rolls, and wholly automatic in operation.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and in the details of construction may be made by a skilled mechanic Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I IOO IIO

IZO'

therefore reserve the right to make such modi ications as clearly fall within the scope of the invention.

I attach especial importance to the feedertray adapted to feed material to be ground to pairs of rolls in a manner to insure a continuous feed of the stock in thin streams to and continuously throughout the length of the pairs of rolls. This end is attained by the employment of a horizontal tray hung above the rolls and provided with a central Vertical partition 8, situated midway of the bottom of the tray, means for giving a lateral shake to the tray to make it travel longitudinally of the rolls and in a path parallel to the axes thereof, and inclined feed-boards hung to the tray to travel endwise therewith and inclined from the horizontal bottom of the tray downwardly toward the rolls. The stock is fed to this divided horizontal tray by chutes located in the vertical planes of the tray-compartments, so that the stock will fall by gravity to lodge upon the tray-bottom, and the stock is then shaken by the motion of the tray to travel over the ianged edges of said tray upon the feed-boards, the latter serving to assist the shaking tray in distributing the stock to make the latter move in a thin stream to the rolls continuously along the length thereof. The feeder of my.invention is extremely simple in construction, has been found to be efficient and satisfactory in operation, is free from complications in its structure, and can easily be supplied to ordinary roller-mills without modiications thereof.

One feature of my feeder to which attention is called is the rod or pitman 15, guided in the mill-housing to travel endwise therein, said rod attached to the side of the feed-tray to move the same laterally in a path at right angles to its major axis, so as to shake the stock lengthwise of the inclined feed-boards, and thus secure distribution of the stock in a thin stream uniformly. This rod or pitman is driven by a lever having voperative connection with a cam on a roll-shaft. Having thus described the invention, what I claim is- In a feed mechanism for grinding-mills, the combination of a casing provided at the top with a receiving-chamber and having a central partition therein and provided with adj ustable gates pivotally mounted at opposite sides of the central partition and extending vertically from the top to the bottom of the said chamber, grinding-rolls arranged in pairs at the bottom of the casing, an oscillating tray suspended by straps or hangers within the casing and provided' with a central vertical partition and having upwardly-extending ribs or flanges at opposite sides of it, the adjustable inclined distributing-boards mounted on the tray and located above the grinding-rolls, an arm extending from the tray, a cam located at one side of the casing on the exterior thereof and mounted on the shaft of one of the rolls, and a lever fulcrumed between its ends and pivoted at one end to the said arm and having its other end connected with the cam, whereby the tray is vibrated, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST H. BOELTER.

Vitnesses:

N. PAYNE, H. RIoHEsoN. 

